New resveratrol oligomers in the stem bark of Vatica pauciflora

Five new resveratrol oligomers; pauciflorols A-C (1-3), isovaticanols B (6) and C (8), and three new oligostilbene glucosides; pauciflorosides A (11), B (13), C (14), were isolated from the stem bark of Vatica pauciflora (Dipterocarpaceae) together with known 17 resveratrol oligomers (4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12 and 15-25) and bergenin (26). The structures of isolates were established on the basis of detailed spectroscopic analysis. The typical and characteristic spectral properties of some resveratrol oligomers were also discussed.     

Palladium-catalyzed epimerization of γ-alkenyl-γ-butyrolactone derivatives

γ-Alkenyl-α,β,γ-trisubstituted-γ-butyrolactones (12-16) and γ-alkenyl-furofurandione derivatives (21-Z-24-Z; 21-E-24-E; 25-Z-28-Z; and 25-E-28-E) were successfully epimerized in high yield by a palladium catalyst.     

Columnar/smectic metallomesogens derived from heterocyclic benzoxazoles

The synthesis, mesomorphic behavior, and optical properties of two new series of metal complexes 1a,b-M (M=Pd, Cu, Zn) derived from benzoxazoles 2a,b are reported. The crystal and molecular structures of mesogenic 5-decyloxy-2-(6-decyloxybenzooxazol-2-yl)phenol and nonmesogenic bis[5-octyloxy-2-(6-octyloxybenzooxazol-2-yl) phenol]Pd(II) were determined by means of X-ray structural analysis. Two benzoxazoles 2a exhibited monotropic SmA phases, and all benzoxazoles 2b were nonmesogenic. On the other hand, metal complexes 1a-M exhibited distinctly different mesomorphism from complexes 1b-M. Complexes 1a-Pd formed SmC phases; complexes 1a-Cu and 1a-Zn formed crystal phases. In contrast, complexes 1b-Zn exhibited columnar phases, and complexes 1b-Cu and 1b-Pd were nonmesogenic. The difference of the mesomorphism in 1a-M and 1b-M was probably attributed to the geometry and/or the overall molecular shape created by 2a and 2b. The electronic configuration of metal ion might play an important role in forming the mesophases. The fluorescent properties of these compounds were also examined.     

Synthesis of naturally occurring bioactive butyrolactones: maculalactones A-C and nostoclide I

Starting from citraconic anhydride (13), a simple multistep (9-10 steps) synthesis of naturally occurring butyrolactones maculalactone A (3), maculalactone B (1), maculalactone C (2) and nostoclide I (4) have been described with good overall yields via dibenzylmaleic anhydride (20) and benzylisopropylmaleic anhydride (27). The two anhydrides 20 and 27 were prepared by S_N2′ coupling reactions of appropriate Grignard reagents with dimethyl bromomethylfumarate (14), LiOH-induced hydrolysis of esters to acids, bromination of carbon-carbon double bond, in situ dehydration followed by dehydrobromination and chemoselective allylic substitution of bromoatom in disubstituted anhydrides 19 and 26 with appropriate Grignard reagents. The NaBH₄ reduction of these anhydrides 20 and 27 furnished the desired lactones 21 and 29, respectively. The lactone 21 on Knoevenagel condensation with benzaldehyde, furnished maculalactone B (1), which on isomerization gave maculalactone C (2). Selective catalytic hydrogenation of 1 gave maculalactone A (3). The conversion of lactone 29 to nostoclide I (4) is known.     

Seven new alkaloids from the roots of Stemona tuberosa

Seven new alkaloids, named as 1,9-epoxy-9a-hydroxystenine (1), tuberostemoline A (2), tuberostemoline B (3), tuberostemoninol C (4), oxotuberostemonine A (5), the mixture of bisdehydrotuberostemonine D (6), and bisdehydrotuberostemonine E (7), together with four known alkaloids neotuberostemonine (8), sessilifoline B (9), stemoxazolidinone F (10), and tuberostemoninol A (11), were isolated from the roots of Stemona tuberosa. The structures of 1–7 were elucidated through extensive spectroscopic analysis, and the relative configurations of 1–6 and 8 were further confirmed by X-ray crystallographic data. Compounds 8, 9 and the mixture of 6 & 7 exhibited potential acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory activities.     

Catalyst- and steric-controlled alkenylation via chemoselective C-H activation and C-Br activation in Heck reaction of methyl 1-(2-bromoaryl)-3-(2-furyl/thienyl)-5-oxopyrrolidine-2-carboxylates and diethyl 1-(2-bromoaryl)-3-(2-furyl/thienyl)-5-oxopyrrolidine-2,2-dicarboxylate derivatives

Pd(II)-catalyzed alkenylation of methyl 1-(2-bromoaryl)-3-(2-furyl/thienyl)-5-oxopyrrolidine-2-carboxylate derivatives 1(a-d) resulted in the formation of 3(a-d) exclusively via C-H activation in the heteroaryl moiety. Similar observations were observed for the corresponding diester analogues 4(a-d) to form 5(a-d). Normal Heck reaction, however, was observed in the case of 1(a-f) to furnish 2(a-f) when the reaction was carried out with Pd(0) catalyst generated in situ. Pd(0)-catalyzed vinylation of 4(a-f) via C-Br oxidation, however, failed due to steric reason.     

An efficient substituent dependent synthesis of congested pyridines and pyrimidines

An efficient and versatile synthesis of various congested pyridines 3a-h, 6a,b, 8a-n, 10a-g, and 16a,b, and (pyrimidin-4-yl)acetonitriles 13a-g has been delineated by base catalyzed ring transformation of suitably functionalized 2H-pyran-2-ones 1a-h, 5, 7, and 15 by formamidine acetate 2a, acetamidine hydrochloride 2b, S-methylisothiourea 9a, pyrazol-1-yl-carboxamidine 9b, and arylamidine hydrochloride 12 separately in the presence of powdered KOH in dry DMF.     

Benzotriazole-mediated alkoxyalkylation and acyloxyalkylation

Reactions of readily available and stable 1-(α-alkoxyalkyl)benzotriazoles type 9a,b and 10a-d with a variety of silyl enol ethers 11 or 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds 13 give the expected ketones 12a-l (60-92%), β-keto esters 14a,b (62-67%), and malonates 14c,d (79-88%) in which a tetrahydrofuran or tetrahydropyran moiety has been introduced at the α position. 1-(Benzotriazol-1-yl)alkyl esters 7 are converted by cyanide anion into cyanohydrin esters 15a-i (55-98%).     

Synthesis of fluorine containing glycolurils and oxazolines from oxides of internal perfluoroolefins

The reaction of oxides of internal perfluoroolefins 1-3 with urea gave two kinds of novel fluorine containing N-heterocyclic compounds depending on the solvent nature: 1,5-bis(perfluoroalkyl)tetraazabicyclo[3.3.0]octane-3,7-diones 4a-c and 2-amino-5-fluoro-4,5-bis(perfluoroalkyl)-4,5-dihydrooxazol-4-ols 7a-d. Use of polar dimethylsulfoxide, N,N-dimethylacetamide and acetonitrile afforded glycolurils 4a-c in moderate yields. In dioxane, unexpected cyclization occurred resulting in oxazolines 7a-d in high yields. A similar reaction of oxiranes 2, 3 with urea in aqueous dioxane gave mixtures of 4,5-dihydroxy-4,5-bis(perfluoroalkyl)imidazolidine-2-ones 9b, c, glycolurils 4b, c and oxazolines 7b-d. The molecular structure of trans-isomers of oxazoline 7b and imidazolidine 9b has been established by X-ray crystallography.     

Copper-catalyzed dimerization of chromium Fischer carbene complexes: synthesis of dialkoxytrienes and their Nazarov-type cyclization to 2-alkoxy-2-cyclopentenones

Fischer carbene complexes 1 underwent a clean ligand dimerization reaction yielding functionalized olefins and trienes 4 in the presence of copper (I) catalysts. If treated with trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), trienes 4c, d, f undergo a cyclization process (Nazarov reaction) which furnishes cyclopentenone derivatives 6c, d, 7c, d and 8 in good yields. Finally, the Fischer aminocarbene 9 efficiently cyclodimerizes to the substituted arene 10 in the presence of CuBr.     

Palladium-catalyzed asymmetric synthesis of allylic alcohols from unsymmetrical and symmetrical racemic allylic carbonates featuring C-O-bond formation and dynamic kinetic resolution

Described is the asymmetric synthesis of the allylic alcohols 11 (85% ee), 15 (99% ee), 17 (93% ee), 19 (61% ee), and 21 (69% ee) through a Pd-catalyzed reaction of the unsymmetrical carbonates rac-10, rac-12, rac-14, rac-16, rac-18, and rac-20, respectively, with KHCO₃ and H₂O in the presence of bisphosphane 6. Similarly the allylic alcohols 23 (99% ee) and 25 (97% ee) have been obtained from the symmetrical carbonates rac-22 and rac-24, respectively. Reaction of the meso-biscarbonate 26 with H₂O and Pd(0)/6 afforded alcohol 27 (96% ee), which was converted to the PG building block 32. The unsaturated bisphosphane 33 showed in the synthesis of alcohols 36, 37, and 39 a similar high selectivity as 6. The formation of alcohols 11, 15, and 17 involves an efficient dynamic kinetic resolution.     

Synthesis of novel lariat azathia crown macrocycles containing two triazole rings and bis crown macrocycles containing four triazole rings

The 13-hydroxy macrocycles 7a-d were prepared in 40-50% yields by the condensation of 1,ω-bis(4-amino-1,2,4-triazol-3-ylsulfany)alkanes 2a-d with 1,3-bis(2-formyphenoxy)-2-propanol (9). Acylation of 7a-d with 2-chloroacetylchloride gave the corresponding esters 11a,b. Amination of 11a,b with different amines in acetone furnished exclusively the target lariat macrocycles 12a,b and 13 in 60-70% yields. Reaction of 2 equiv. of the macrocycles 11a,b with 1 equiv. of piperazine afforded the novel bis macrocyles 14a,b in 50-60% yields. Reduction of 7a-d with NaBH₄ afforded the corresponding 13-hydroxyazathia crown ethers 15a-d in 65-70% yields.     

Synthesis of polyfunctionalized furans from 3-acetyl-1-aryl-2-pentene-1,4-diones

The BF₃-catalyzed cyclization of 3-acetyl-1-aryl-2-pentene-1,4-diones 1a-e in the presence of water in boiling tetrahydrofuran gave bis(3-acetyl-5-aryl-2-furyl)methanes 2a-e in 26-79% yields along with a small amount of 3-acetyl-5-aryl-2-methylfurans 3a-e. The exact structure of 2a was determined by X-ray crystallography. The use of a half volume of the solvent for the reaction of 1a resulted in the formation of 2,4-bis(3-acetyl-5-phenyl-2-furfuryl)-3-acetyl-5-phenylfuran (4) together with 2a and 3a. A similar reaction of 1a was carried out in the presence of 3-acetyl-5-(4-methylphenyl)-2-methylfuran (3d) to afford 4-(3-acetyl-5-phenyl-2-furfuryl)-3-acetyl-5-(4-methylphenyl)-2-methylfuran (5) in 49% yield. The BF₃-catalyzed reaction of 1a with 2,4-pentanedione in dry tetrahydrofuran at 23°C gave 3-(3-acetyl-5-phenyl-2-furfuryl)-4-hydroxy-3-penten-2-one (6a) and 3-(3-acetyl-2-methyl-4-phenyl-5-furyl)-4-hydroxy-3-penten-2-one (7a) in 66 and 24% yields, respectively. The product distribution depended on the reaction temperature. A similar reaction of 1b-e also yielded the corresponding trisubstituted furans 6b-e and tetrasubstituted furans 7b-e in good yields. These results suggested the presence of the furfuryl carbocation intermediate A during the reaction. The one-pot synthesis of 6a and 7a was also achieved by a similar reaction using phenylglyoxal. The deoxygenation of 1a with triphenylphosphine gave 3a in 88% yield, while 1a was treated with concentrated hydrochloric acid to yield 3-acetyl-2-chloromethyl-5-phenylfuran (8) which was quantitatively transformed in ethanol into 3-acetyl-2-ethoxymethyl-5-phenylfuran (9) and in water into 3-acetyl-5-phenylfurfuryl alcohol (10), respectively. In addition, the Diels-Alder reaction of cyclopantadiene with 1a gave the corresponding [4+2] cycloaddition products 11 and 12.     

Quencher-free molecular beacon systems with two pyrene units in the stem region

We appended pyrene units covalently onto adenosine and uridine nucleosides (forming A^P and U^P units, respectively) and then incorporated them into oligonucleotides such that they were positioned in complementary locations in opposite strands in the middle positions of hairpin stems. Systems 1 (A^PU^P) and 3 (A^PA^P) individually exhibit aromatic stacking between the opposing pyrene units in the stems of their hairpins and display in their spectra the photophysical properties of strongly red-shifted bands; in contrast, the U^PU^P system 2 exhibits quenching spectra. Systems 1 (A^PU^P) and 3 (A^PA^P) behave as effective molecular beacons (MBs) that change color from green to blue upon duplex formation, whereas 2 (U^PU^P) is an effective MB that changes the intensity of its fluorescence upon forming its perfectly matched duplex.     

Cycloadditions of α-(4-[2.2]paracyclophanyl)-N-methyl nitrone

Cycloadditions of the newly synthesized α-(4-[2.2]paracyclophanyl)-N-methyl nitrone (9) with selected dipolarophiles such as phenyl isocyanate (10), styrene (13), dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate (15) and methylene sulfene (17) are reported. Two isolated diastereomeric oxadiazolones 11 and 12 are obtained by the reaction of 9 with 10, whereas the reaction of 9 with either 13 and/or 15 gives only one diastereomer isoxazole 14 and/or 16. 4-([2.2]Paracylophanyl)-N-methylamine (20) was obtained by the reaction of 9 with 17. The structure of compounds 9, 11 and 14 are assigned by X-ray structural analysis.     

Synthesis, photophysical and photochemical properties of highly soluble phthalocyanines substituted with four 3,5-dimethylpyrazole-1-methoxy groups

The synthesis and characterization of new peripherally tetra-3,5-dimethylpyrazole-1-methoxy substituted metal-free (4), zinc (5), nickel (6), cobalt (7), copper (8) and lead (9) phthalocyanines are described for the first time in this study. The photophysical (fluorescence quantum yields and fluorescence lifetimes) and photochemical (photodegradation and singlet oxygen quantum yields) properties of metal-free (4), zinc (5) and lead (9) phthalocyanines are studied in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). Nickel (6), cobalt (7) and copper (8) phthalocyanines (6-8) did not evaluate for this purpose due to transition metal and paramagnetic behavior of central metals in the phthalocyanine cavity. The fluorescence quenching behavior of metal-free (4), zinc (5) and lead (9) phthalocyanines are also investigated. The fluorescence emissions of these phthalocyanines are effectively quenched by 1,4-benzoquinone in DMSO.     

Synthesis of pyridine and 2,2′-bipyridine derivatives from the aza Diels-Alder reaction of substituted 1,2,4-triazines

Amidrazone 1a and the tricarbonyl derivatives 2b-d reacted in boiling ethanol in the presence of 2,5-norbornadiene 5 giving the pyridine derivatives 6b-d respectively (59-72%) and in the presence of 2,3-dihydrofuran 7 yielding the lactones 10b-d (39-44%). The 2,2′-bipyridine derivatives 6e-g were similarly obtained in good yield (81-87%) from the reaction of amidrazone 1b and tricarbonyl derivatives 2b-d in the presence of 2,5-norbornadiene 5.     

Preparation of new pyrido[3,4-b]thienopyrroles and pyrido[4,3-e]thienopyridazines

Two new types of pyrido-fused tris-heterocycles (1a,b and 2a,b) have been prepared from 3-aminopyridine in five/six steps. A synthetic strategy for the preparation of the novel pyrido[3,4-b]thieno[2,3- and 3,2-d]pyrroles (1a,b) and pyrido[4,3-e]thieno[2,3- and 3,2-c]pyridazines (2a,b) has been studied. The Suzuki cross coupling of the appropriate 2- and 3-thienoboronic acids (3,4) and 4-bromo-3-pyridylpivaloylamide (9) afforded the biaryl coupling products (10,11) in high yields (85%). Diazotization of the hydrolysed (2-thienyl)-coupling product (12) and azide substitution gave the 3-azido-4-(2-thienyl)pyridine intermediate (72%, 14). 3-Azido-4-(3-thienyl)pyridine (15) was prepared by exchanging the previous order of reactions. The desired β-carboline thiophene analogues (1a,b) were obtained via the nitrene by thermal decomposition of the azido precursors (14,15). By optimising conditions for intramolecular diazocoupling, the corresponding pyridazine products (72-83%, 2a,b) were afforded.     

Pheromone synthesis. Part 255: Synthesis and GC–MS analysis of pheromonal triacylglycerols of male Drosophila fruit flies

Pheromonal triacylglycerols and their analogs, 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, and 3C, of male Drosophila fruit flies were synthesized and analyzed by GC–MS. Their GC retention times were found to be a reliable measure to analyze and identify these triacylglycerols with acetyl, oleoyl and tigloyl groups, although the stereo- and regioisomers of 1 (1A and 1B), 2 (2A and 2B), and 3 (3A, 3B, and 3C) could not be distinguished from each other by MS alone.     

Palladium complexes of N-aryl-2-pyridylamines

Palladium complexes of N-phenyl-2-pyridylamine (4) and dipyridylamine substrates (7, 11) have been studied. Due to the coordination ability of the pyridine-nitrogen atoms, the pyridyl substrates, 4, 7, 11 were subjected to Pd(OAc)₂ complexations and a number of N-aryl-2-pyridylamine Pd complexes (13-17) were isolated and characterised, in particular by NMR and ESI-MS. A new method for the preparation of the acetato-bridged six-membered ring palladacycle complex (13) of 4 is reported. The dipyridyl amines 7, 11 formed cis/trans bis-dentate acetato-bridged dimeric Pd₂Lig₂(OAc)₂ (14a,b/16a,b) and Pd₃Lig₂(OAc)₄ complexes (15a,b/17a,b). The N-aryl-2-pyridylamine substrates (4, 7, 11) were prepared by oxidative nucleophilic substitution, by 1,3-cycloaddition reaction or by Buchwald amination.